Confused cats against feminism

It's a Tumblr, by the guy who runs We Hunted the Mammoth. http://confusedcatsagainstfeminism.tumblr.com/

I like it a lot. There's history and stuff about how it got there and why, but really, who cares. Cute cats! Feminism! Humor!

I submitted two bits. He accepted one. Here's the one he took:



Here's the one he didn't take:



The first one, in case you care, is Arwen. The second is Naomi.

Notes from a life

Bits and pieces.

I am still being bit by what are presumed to be fleas when I visit a friend's house. I got a Therapik today. This is the gizmo that applies heat directly to the bite in order to break down the bug goop that causes itching. The gizmo specifically states that it should be used on brand-new bites. Me, I instantly applied it to many day old bites, because itching. So far, it is either neutral or makes them itch worse. It seems possible that most of my reaction is actually an allergic reaction, and that breaking down the bug stuff won't actually make the allergic reaction go away. It seems possible that applied early, it may help reduce the amount of allergic reaction. Or not. It is also possible that the increase in itching is a temporary situation, and that it may have longer term useful results. Experimentation is in order. It was less than $15 (not counting shipping), so a reasonable experiment.

I got to work at Abbott twice this week, both times alone. It was enjoyable, although last night was one of those nights where nothing early on went smoothly, so everything was just a bit behind itself. Nevertheless, it was all good, and I can see the ways to make this environment work well for me. Including the faffing around in the parking garage, my commute is just under three miles one way. Which means that an entire week's commute would still be less, mileage-wise, than one way to the Woodbury lab. It is walkable, if I have a lot of time -- but I never get up that early. It might be bikeable, but I don't own a bike and there isn't a Nice Ride station near where I live -- though there is one near the hospital. Any gate, this is all going well.

It looks like maybe I was misinformed. Very possibly my favorite yarn, Loops & Threads Soft and Shiny, is not going out of production. Not knowing this, I went to two different Michael's stores this morning to buy them out of my favorite color of that brand, the grey that is almost silver. I also bought some black while I was at it. So now I have the materials to make an afghan I kinda want to make after I finish Toni Brust's afghan. Remember that afghan that I hated because I hated the yarn? I didn't actually hate the pattern, and I think it might look really pretty if the central spiral of each panel was that silver-grey, the remainder black, with electric teal accents. I have enough in the Soft and Shiny to do that. I think I'll do that on spec, since I don't have anyone that has asked for it, and it's a bit weird. It doesn't create a very solid cloth. Once I get it done, I'll post a picture and see if anyone wants it. If no one does, maybe I'll keep it for cold winter days. Any gate, I'm glad to see that that line of yarn is probably not going out of production. They have some really pretty ombres that I don't know what to do with, but are really, really pretty. Ombres are kinda difficult to work with, if you like texture, as I do, since the varigation of the yarn tends to obscure the texture. The varigation is pretty to look at, but the texture is more fun to construct.

The Bucklin cats are getting comfortable. I've been mugged by Grout several times, going through the not-cat-free space going to and from work, and by Mora tonight, returning from the Board meeting. Spackle evidently got a lot of attention from Pamela and David earlier today. We can't keep them a lot longer, but they seem healthy, happy, and are becoming quite social. I think they would really like to be in a home where they can socialize with the humans, rather than the humans having to make a special effort to visit them. Louie came by the other night to visit them, and they came out and were happy to see her. Nate has been to visit them many times, and they seem to really like to see him, too.

The Board meeting went pretty well, tonight. I think that we're just about done with the thing that I care most about, the harassment policy. There's a bunch of systems work that needs to be done. How to file reports, preferably in a place easier to retrieve them from than a locked cabinet in a lavatory in the basement with a sign on the door that says "Beware of the Leopard." We are trying to be careful and thoughtful, both providing useful systems for the future, and making sure that we are both able to respond appropriately and flexibly to problems, while still retaining sufficient institutional memory that we don't have to reinvent the wheel every time, and so that patterns of behavior can be noted if necessary. Dear all my friends, this is actually hard work. And while I admit that many institutions have fucked up royally, I can also attest that some of that fuck up was due to it being hard. I'm not interested in letting people who screwed it up off the hook. This is important, and we need to do it, but damn is it a minefield. Turns out, everything is connected. And almost everyone is connected, too. Fuck. Also at the Board meeting, we are pretty sure we know where all our money is, although we're not sure we know how to access all our money. But, at least we can find it. So, next steps come next.